A wedding in Boise

Oliver experienced his first plane ride in late May. We went out to Boise, ID for our friends' wedding (congrats Elizabeth and Micah!) We had a direct flight on the way there. He hadn't napped that morning and fell asleep right away and slept for an hour. He was awake the rest of the flight but we were able to keep him occupied with toys.

leaving Minnesota

We really enjoyed the festivities, spending time with our Santa Cruz friends, and introducing Oli to everyone.

celebrating, photo by Marc Chow

catching up with Vickie & Marc (photo by Marc)

getting ready for the rehearsal dinner

waiting for the trolley to the ceremony

on board the trolley

married!

all dressed up

a Santa Cruz reunion at Elizabeth & Micah's wedding

On the way home Oliver also did pretty well on the plane, though he didn't sleep much (and therefore neither did we). On the last leg he befriended our flight attendant. She kept stopping by to see him smile and laugh. When we landed she carried him around to meet some of the other babies on the plane. 8 months old and he's already making friends!

planes are fun!

Grandma & Grandpa Ayres come to town

My parents came to visit in mid-May. My mom hadn’t seen Oliver since he was a few weeks old and my dad had never met him. We spent the afternoon showing them around the neighborhood and then walked to Café Latte for dinner. Oliver and my mom spent much of the evening making each other laugh.

 The next day we went to the Como Conservatory & Zoo and enjoyed the plants, animals, and wonderful weather and great company. In the evening we watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 (which I had never seen before) and had some laughs!

My parents enjoy mall walking and were excited to check out the Mall of America so we went there the following day. In the evening we went to Punch Pizza and then had frozen yogurt. Grandma and Grandpa seemed to have a good time with Oli.

at Mall of America

frozen yogurt!

After visiting Shell and family in Madison, my parents came back for an evening before flying out of MSP. Chris made pizza and we just sat around and talked. It was so great to spend time with my parents. Thanks for visiting mom & dad! I miss you guys! Please come back soon.

Grandpa Mike & Oli

Also, I cut my hair in mid-May. After almost a lifetime of long hair, I chopped off 10" to donate. I'm still adjusting, but so far I like it.

possibly my favorite photo of Oli and I

*Thanks to my dad for most of the photos of their trip.

8 months

Oliver is continuing to grow and is an active, happy baby. No doctor’s visit this month, but according to the wii he weighed between 20-21 pounds this month! Carrying him around is a workout these days.

At the beginning of May we took a roadtrip to Chicago. I had a conference there so Chris and Oli came along. Oli did really well most of the time. We stayed at Palmer House Hilton in Chicago – baby’s first hotel! He seemed to enjoy Chicago. Everywhere we went people smiled at him and said “how cute” and “he’s such a happy baby.” 

checking out the view in Chicago from the 21st floor

first hotel bed

checking out the bean in Millennium Park

On our way home from Chicago, we stopped in Madison and stayed the weekend with the Ayres-Wilhelms. His cousins and aunt love playing with him. Shell babysat for us and Chris and I got to go on a date! Oliver slept all the way home from Madison. 7 1/2 months was a great age for travel! We’re hoping this  continues with the rest of our summer travels.

Olbrich Gardens in Madison

Brunch at Ironworks Cafe in Madison

shopping with Auntie

This month Oliver’s been working on his motor skills a lot, really trying to crawl and getting frustrated because he hasn’t quite figured it out. He got two knees up recently and we think he’ll be crawling any day! You can already scoot, but only backwards, which is never where he wants to go. 

Oliver’s first tooth (on the bottom) appeared this month – by 8 months he has two on the bottom and is starting to get the top two.

He's also been trying a little more solid food, but still likes to play with it more than eat it!

Dislikes: rice cereal, applesauce

Likes: lemons and limes, yogurt

Love this guy!